Rip Hamilton took an absolute beating in the final minutes of Detroit's loss to the Celtics. First he got poked in the eye by Ray Allen with about three minutes left, and because the refs swallowed their whistles, the Pistons were forced to burn a time out they really could have used in the final seconds.But more of a lasting concern is the sprained elbow he suffered in the final minute (which, to be fair, he may have sustained while illegally clutching Allen on the other end). He was forced out of the game in obvious pain and Flip Saunders still isn't sure about his availability tomorrow night. From A. Sherrod Blakely of Booth Newspapers:
"It would be different if it was his left arm, but it's his right arm, his shooting arm, the golden arm" Saunders said. "I think he'll need to get it polished up a bit before he can play."If he has any motor ability whatsoever in the arm, I'd be shocked if he sat out, but if it did come to that, the Pistons have some options. Arron Afflalo has started in place of Rip in the regular season, but Rodney Stuckey, who can play both backcourt positions, seems like the more likely option to start for him now. Stay tuned.
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Before Pistons-Celtics Game 3, we 
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